Our Learning Story
Thank you for taking the time to learn more about the Helen Gorman Elementary Learning Plan. We encourage you to explore our plan and keep our handy HGE Learning Plan-on-a-Page as a reference.
Our History
Helen Gorman Elementary has a rich legacy. Helen Gorman Elementary was built in 1992. Our school was named for Helen Irene Gorman who resided in the Glenrosa area from 1916 until her passing. She attended the one room school in Glenrosa until Grade 8 then completed her high school through correspondence. At the age of 18 Ms. Gorman returned to the Glenrosa School as the teacher, where she continued until the little school closed in 1942. After 41 years of teaching, in 1972 Ms. Gorman decided to retire.
Ms. Gorman was such a popular teacher and remembered by so many for the help she had given over the years, that in 1992 the new school in Glenrosa was named in her honour. Ms. Gorman was actively involved in school events until at the age of 85, when she suffered a stroke.
We are very proud that our school is named after such a special person who cared about others and always saw the good in everyone. We will continue to honour her endeavoring to make Helen Gorman Elementary a school to be proud of.
In our 2021-22 school year, Helen Gorman Elementary has a population of 245. We are a lovely school situated in the Glenrosa area surrounded by pine trees and rolling hills. Our staff consists of 16 teachers, seven education assistants, two clerical staff, and one administrator. We are committed to supporting the needs of our students and families and continuing to build connections with our school community.
Our Learning Journey
A Five Year School Learning Plan
Update - January 2022
Helen Gorman Elementary currently is in our second year of a five year learning plan. The 2020-21 school year was our first and transitional year of our plan. During the transitional stage, we started the process with a series of learning conversations with staff, students, and parents. We then identified a common belief in learning and brought focus to our school goals. 
In October 2020, our initial step was to identify our collective belief in learning. On our Implementation Day, staff participated in a variety of activities which got to our core beliefs about student and adult learning. The resulting statement gives us a guide to our learning, planning, and actions as we support Helen Gorman students and families.
Our next step in our transitional year was to bring focus to our school goals. In reviewing our six existing school goals, we noticed overlap in several areas. In an effort to bring alignment and coherence to our work, we refined our areas of focus to be social emotional learning, communicating student learning, and inquiry and exploration. Supporting these efforts are the competencies of the Okanagan Peoples' Four Food Chiefs as well as the foundational skills of reading, writing, and numeracy.
Helen Gorman Elementary School Community Learning Plan
Building School Culture & Identity With Visual Art and Song
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| Gym Mural
We invited artist Mr. Dean Lauze to create a mural in our gym; making reference to our surrounding environment along with our Cougar mascot.
School Song
Our students also worked with a local musician to compose our own school song which can be heard by pressing the play icon below.
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